August feedinand nell



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE j AUGUST FERDINAND N ELL, OF SAN FRANCISCO, .CALIFOBNIA,, ,ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES OSTERBERG, OF SAME PLACE. I

' CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 380,049, dated March 27 1888,

Application filed November 5. 1887. Serial No. 254,433. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUST FERDINAND NELL, of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Safety Brakes and Clutches for Railroad-Cars; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to the class of safety appliances for cars, the object of which is to instantly arrest their movement and prevent The object of my invention is to provide ef-- fective and readily-operative mechanism for instantly stopping'a car or a train of cars,and at the same time preventing their derailment.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanation of my invention, Figure 1 is a plan of the bottom of the car or truck, showing the clutches held up out of able boxes.

use. Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the clutch dropped to its engagement with the rail.

A is the car or truck having wheels B moving on the rails C. D is a rock-shaft mounted transversely under the'car or truck in suit- To the shaft, near each end, is set by a screw, 6, the brackets E, which carry in their ends safety brakes or clutches F. These consist of jaws f, crossing each other and pivoted together by bolt f, and links f, pivoted to the ends'of the jaws and to the brackets, as shown. The jaws have hooked or curved ends for clutching the top of the rails C, and they are kept normally separated by a centrally-jointed brace, G, while a spring, H, secured to the pivot-bolt connecting the jaws and the links, tends to close them.

I is a rock-shaft mounted in suitable bearings under the car or truck and extending longitudinally. This shaft has crank-arms c', to the ends of which are attached rods or pins J, which pass under the clutches and through fixed staples or eyes 'K, wherebythey hold said clutches up. Pivoted to the bolt f, which pivots the jaws f together, is a swinging bail, L the free end of which has an indented angular portion, Z.

The operation of the safety brake and clutch is as follows: The car or truck A maybe a single one or one of a train. When in train, each car of the train is provided with the devices described, and the ends of the-longitudinal shaft I of each car are coupled by suitable connections with the adjacent ends of the shafts of adjacent cars, so that throughout the train all the shafts I may be rocked together from some suitable source of control. Consequently when the emergency is at hand the operator rocks the shafts I throughout the whole train. This hasv the effect of withdrawing the pins J from the staples K, and immediately the clutches, which up to this time have been held up out of the Way, drop by gravity with the transverse rock-shaft as a center. As soon as the jointed brace between the jaws strikes the rail it bends upwardly, allowing the jaws to pass on each side of the rail, the spring drawing them together against the web of the rail. Now, by reason of the double toggle construction of the clutches the strain or pulling force exercised by the moving car simply forces the jaws tighter on the rails, for all the parts of the clutch tend toward a straight line by being pulled upon, and therefore the jaws brake the car and prevent its derailment. The bail L is for the purpose of loosening the grip of the clutches on the rails after they have served their purpose. This bail, when the clutches drop, falls behind them with its indented angular portion straddling the top-of the rail. car, the bite of the bail on the rail arrests it, and, turning on the rail as a fulcrum, it pushes up on thebolt f, to which it is connected, and by this movement separates the links f of the Now, upon backing the v clutches, which inturn separate the j aws' f and relieve them.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A safety brake and clutch for cars, consisting of swinging'gravity-jaws normally carried up under the car for embracing and clam ping, when dropped, the top of the rail, substantially as herein described.

2. Safety-clutches for embracing and clamping the top of the rails, and a pivot-connection for them under the car, in combination with a catch for holding them up when not in use, said catch comprising fixed staples under the car and engaging-rods, and a trip comprising a rock-shaft. connected with the rods for withdrawing them whennecessary, whereby the clutches drop to engagement with the rails, substantially as herein described.

3. Safety-clutches for embracing and clamping the top of the rails and a transverse rockshaft under the car, and on which the clutches are mounted, in combination with fixed staples under the car, pins passing under the clutches and seated in the staples for supporting the clutches when not in use, and a longitudinal rock-shaft having cranks, to whichthe pins are connected, whereby said pins are withdrawn from under the clutches to drop them to engagement with the rails, substantially as herein described.

4. The swinging gravity-clutches under the car for embracing and clamping the top of the.

rails, consisting of the pivoted jaws and the pivoted links pivoted to thejaws, in combination with the jointed brace between the jaws for keeping them normally open, substantially as herein described.

5. The swinging gravity-clutches under the car for embracing and clamping the top of the rails, consisting of the pivoted jaws and the pivoted links pivoted to the jaws, in combination with the jointed brace between the jaws for keeping them normally open and the spring for closing them when relieved of the brace, substantially as herein described.

6. The swinging gravity-clutches under the car for embracing and clamping the top of the rails, consisting of the pivoted jaws and the pivoted links pivoted to the jaws, in combination with the bail pivoted to the pivot-bolt of the jaws and having an indented portion for biting the top of the rail, whereby the grip of the jaws is relieved, substantially as herein described.

7. The transverse rock-shaft under the car, the brackets set thereon, thelinks pivoted in the ends of the brackets, and the pivoted jaws pivoted to the links, said links and jaws forming clutches for embracing and clamping the rails, the jointed brace for keeping the jaws open, and the spring for closing them, in combination with the staples and the sliding pins whereby the clutches are held up when not in use, and thelongitudinal rockshaft and cranks for withdrawing the pins and dropping the clutches to engagement with the rails, substantially as herein described.

8. The transverse rock-shaft under the car, the brackets set thereon, and the clutches secured to the brackets and consisting of the pivoted jaws and the pivoted links pivoted to the jaws, the jointed brace for holding the jaws open, and the spring for closing them, in combination with the fixed staples and sliding pins for holding the clutches up, the longitudinal rock-shaft and cranks for withdrawing the pins and dropping the clutches to their engagement with the rails, and the swinging bail connected with the pivot-bolt of the jaws of the clutches and having an indented portion for biting the top of the rail, whereby the grip of the jaws is relieved, substantially as herein described.

It witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

AUGUST FERDINAND NELL.

Witnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, H. 0. LEE. 

